Skymax 127

[nicnac]

Has anybody got a hands on review on the Skymax 127 ??

im looking at that model and the Star travel 120, one of them will be my starter scope.

[AztecastroMcJ]

i purchased 127 back in May and would recommend it

its OTA is more expensive than 120 and there are differences

120 is fast f/5, while 127 is f/11.8

this shud mean faster 120 may give better views of DSO's than

slower 127 which is best suited for Planets and Moon

although i have been able to find and view alot of DSO with my 127

and views are ok

normally u pay for what u get and 127 is bit more expensive

hopes this helps with decision

[nicnac]

Thanks for that, just had a gander at your albums, most impressive

[AztecastroMcJ]

Thanks for that, just had a gander at your albums, most impressive

thx 4 comment

James

[Stardust]

I tend to be a bit fussy about scopes, so you'll be pleased to hear that I give the skymax127 a big thumbs up. I bought a secondhand ota and have been trying it on a vixen portamount. I'd be hard pushed to find something better for what I paid. I think you get a lot of scope in a small lightweight package. It does depend on what you want it for though, Moon, planets and doubles are it's best targets. I've yet to try it on dso's, though M13 did look very nice.

Just re read that this is a starter scope, that's a tough one, because I really enjoy the wider views in a refractor, whereas the 127 will give you some high mag stuff real easy.

The best thing if you can is to try and get a look through each as they are very different beasts.

That's either helped or confused you even more

[Theninjagecko]

Very nice little scope, will give you incredible views of the moon. Sold mine to get a big dob.

[crepitis]

I used to own the Orion (USA) version a few years ago and thought it was a great scope, I also sold mine to fund a big dob, but I wish I still had it.

There are a few reviews of the orion version on the Cloudy Nights forum, here is a link to one of them Orion Starmax 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain - Review

[Macavity]

I think either would be suitable. Although both demonstrate their more specialist roles, both [iMO] show sufficient general purpose qualities, to retain their usefulness, and likely be a "keeper".

Both have sufficient upgrade possibilities (Better finders, Minus violet filters, 2" diagonals etc.) to keep you going for quite a while. For me, both scopes types have been excellent (and forgiving!) "teachers", before (and still!) contemplating something larger, more glamorous etc.

[NiteGawper]

Hi Nicnac,

I can give another thumbs up to the Skymax 127 - brilliant on the moon and planets.

Because of light pollution I struggle with the DSOs so I can't really comment on how it'll cope (but being f11.8 the 127 is more suited to the planetary stuff rather than deep sky)

In the ideal world - both scopes is the way to go

Skymax 127 for high mag planetary and Startravel 120 for lovely low mag wide-field DSOs.

With the 120 being an achromatic scope not apochromatic - I believe you may get some false colour issues at higher magnification...

I'm sure either will be a great starter scope and will serve you well for years...

HTH,

Andy

[A McEwan]

Another thumbs-up for the 127 from me, but...

The 120mm will give a wider field with any given eyepice. This doesn't automatically mean that DSOs will look 'better' in it, just that there will be more space surrounding them. The Maksutov has a high contrast optical system so the views of DSOs throuh that are just as good as through a comparable 'fast' scope.

The Mak takes longer to cool down though, say an hour or so from indoor temp to cold winter night temp. During that time you will get some turbulance in the image, particularly at higher powers.

The 120mm achro will cool down quicker, but will not give the same level of view at high mags.

Someone said get both - that's what I did a few years ago. I got the 102mm f5 achro and the 127, and used the 102 for the first hour or so while the 127 cooled, then swapped the tubes over on the mount and did my high power viewing. It worked well.

I was using my Mak last night actually. I used the Equinox 120 ED first, looking at lunar features, then used the Maksutov (after perfecting the collimation). Great views (but not quite as sharp as in the Equinox, but then I knew that would be the case).

127 Mak = great portable biggish aperture grab'n'go - more fun that it really ought to be! 120 achro = excellent low-power starfield sweeper and quick look scope.

Enjoy

[waldi]

I had 2 times Skymax 127 :-) I`m sure that.. one more time I will buy him :-)

very good quality